I completely disagree with the above poster who said to shrug it off. Take it from me (I already have a second graduate degree) when I tell you that your undergrad GPA can be ridiculously welded to you--depending on your industry or field, it can follow you around for ten years after graduating. And you did A- work; that's what you deserve.

That can't be true. Law School GPA is much more important when looking for a legal career, and I doubt many (or any) firms will even care about the GPA. And at most this is what? 3% of his total GPA? What does it matter?

Though law school GPA is important, so is undergrad GPA. As I've said before, I got a firm job for 1L summer with no law school grades, so I know I was carried by the strength of my law school, my personality, and my undergraduate record. I don't think it will follow you around for 10 years, but it can certainly help or hurt you when it comes to getting summer employment.

If you're getting an MBA because you're not sure of what you want to do later, you run into the risk of hiring partners catching on to that and wonder about your motivation to practice law (or run off and use that MBA) or your financial decision to spend an extra $50K on a degree you probably won't use (and aren't MBAs supposed to teach sound financial decisions?). However, if you have a great reason for it, then go for it.

Senior Consultant Mark Meyerrose notes that joint degree programs are becoming more common at U.S. law schools.

Although combining a J.D. with a graduate degree in another field makes good sense for some applicants, Mark advises most people to think carefully before taking the plunge.

"If you are considering pursuing a joint degree program, you need to be aware of their impact on your wallet and career choices," says Mark.

"Undoubtedly, many such programs offer students incredible intellectual opportunities. For example, Stanford Law School recently announced that it now has 11 dual or joint degree arrangements with other schools and departments around the wider university. That's great. After all, a school's motivation is to increase the intellectual breadth of its offerings, providing students with greater course choices. And what could be problematic about having more choices?

"Well, a couple of issues spring to mind:

"One – Most joint or dual degree programs require additional time enrolled as a student. Thus, the cost of your education will increase by one or more years of tuition – and, at, say, $50K per year that is no small amount of money!. You need to carefully consider all of the benefits – intellectual, professional and, yes, financial – of this decision.

"Two – Consider the marketability of your joint degree. It is not the case that future employers – either in the private or public sections – will necessarily see the value in your joint degree. In fact, the opposite is true. You will more likely be asked to justify the need you saw to pursue this 'extra' education. Unless you can give a clear and coherent explanation for why you pursued these two degrees, you will seem scattered and unfocused intellectually and professionally. So, before deciding to pursue a joint degree, be sure you understand your motivations clearly – and be sure that you can articulate them not only to yourself but also to the admissions committees."

– Mark made thousands of accept/deny/waitlist/hold decisions during his three years as an admissions officer at the Harvard Law School.

Very interesting and on-point comments. As a joint-degree candidate (I'm doing a JD/MS), I am a bit worried about what firms will think during the interviewing season. Since I am graduating in the same amount of time (I just have to take one extra class a semester to get the MS) there is not a huge opportunity cost, minus the $10,000 it will cost to be over-enrolled in classes. But I'm a little afraid firms might be afraid to hire me since my master's (in criminology) has nothing to do with what I want to practice (most likely international business transactions).

That said, I am putting a spin on it, since I am focusing my research on the economics of crime and poverty. Aside from being a degree collecter and being interested in the subject, I really missed economics and math based classes, so I hope that by explaining the program to firms, they may view it as a plus. But who knows - I'm sure a firm or two might ding me thinking I will just leave in a few years to become an academic or something. Who knows.

after a while perusing the bus routes, which was not a fun experience, I figured that if I live in CC AND want to take the bus to school, i should live near Walnut/Chesnut/Lombard Streets.

am i off point?

Yes, the bus to school runs on Walnut (there's a stop right in front of my house, in fact). But Chestnut and Lombard aren't too far from Walnut. You could even take the bus living at Spruce, Locust, Pine, etc. it would just be a slightly longer walk.

his loss--that's an unwise decision if he actually wants nyc biglaw (obviously, i think it's a poor decision anyway, but it's particularly poor in this case because that's a sector where penn is very clearly the stronger school.)

His loss indeed. Can I please just reiterate how excited I am to be going to Penn? It's a little ridiculous. But seriously, Philly is a great city, Penn is a great school, the Penn thread and all of its participants are clearly awesome. I can't wait to get out there in the fall.

It's really weird to me that people actually WANT to go to the Midwest. I spent most of my life trying to get OUT of there!

Uh oh...was Chicago a really bad decision? Part of the reason I'm going to Chicago is that I figured if I didn't leave the East Coast now, I would never live anywhere else besides NY/Boston/DC....but of course I'm still praying that I get to stay in Boston for another three years.

Not if you like Chicago. There's too much sprawl for my liking (Philly has too much sprawl, too, but I like that it has a thriving center).

LOL. Me and LegApp had this exact conversation last night at a bar. That's all I wanted to say, just because I think it's funny

For the most part, it was great. I think that academically, I was made for law school. The case method and socratic dialogue make thinking and learning more menaingful and enjoyable than every before. Socially, I think law school anywhere is hard as a non-trad, and while I like that Michigan's students are slightly older and I have made some good friends, I think the lawyer's club (essentially law school dorms) creates much more gossip and juvenile drama than might exist at schools where more students live off campus. I'm still getting used to Midwest, as well (the food is godawful, except for the sandwiches). All-in-all, it has been a good experience, but I'm much more excited about next year.

That's great to hear about your intellectually stimulating year. Law school is not for everyone, but if it is for you then you will love it - I'm glad you found out it was for you.

Glad to hear you had a good first year, minus the non-trad problems, and I hope spring grades treat you nicely.

1L experiences differ greatly, so take a lot of what is said in this thread with a grain of salt. Based on my experience, I would heartily disagree with much of the advice given, and yet I have no doubt that it is good advice for people in other situations.

Welcome back!

Thanks. I'm waiting for a very important FedEx, so I'm just at home killing time. How was 1L at Penn?

I'll tell you more once all grades are in, but I loved my time here! Can't wait for the next two years or for this summer to start. How was UMich?

1L experiences differ greatly, so take a lot of what is said in this thread with a grain of salt. Based on my experience, I would heartily disagree with much of the advice given, and yet I have no doubt that it is good advice for people in other situations.

Though I haven't read any of the other answers, I don't think anyone needs to go to a top school, but there are people who will only go to a top school or nothing else. These people are usually broke or very risk adverse and only want to go to law school if they are SURE it will pay off financially - something only top schools can legitimately promise. Also, people who already have good jobs or job offers won't want to leave unless it is for a top school.

If all you desire is to become a lawyer then no person NEEDS to go to a top school.